I talked about this same thing in my boiler video that's coming out this next week. Smaller is better and get longer burn times, and is a better bed of coals.
I like big and small splits. Small splits season quicker. However, they burn quicker from my experience. For longer burns, I prefer larger, well-seasoned pieces for bedtime..
I recently bought a old farm house with a old Red Top boiler in it. You an you're comment section is a wealth of knowledge. Thank you for passing this info on to us that are new to the game
Personally after a lifetime of burning, felling and spilling logs i still find the best combination is mixed sizes ie diameter of wood. Over night i put in the biggest chunkiest i can lay my hands on , that keeps burning slower but alive until early o'clock. We never ever burn wood over 20% moisture ,with a typical moisture content of 14-15% , this leaves less ash , burns really clean keeps the flue clean on both fires too.
Awesome....you are doing it right...most people who burn with a wood boiler do not even know their woods moisture content....there motto is if it fits it burns.
Spot on ! I've been heating with wood for 30+ years . Smaller splits do burn more effectively . Also as you stated , more surfaces for drying faster. This also applies to more surfaces for fire to exist = a hotter burn.
@@timothyconnecticut1910 I concur with smaller pieces given more heat, but it’s the all night burn that concerns me. There’s where you have to use larger piece that will last a couple of hours. So you can’t really say one or the other is better.🥴
I burn around 5 cords each winter in a Quadrafire wood stove. I split my Oak and Ash in a 50/50 ratio, half large and half medium. I'll split my Maple, Aspen, Birch and Boxelder in to smaller pieces. The Oak and Ash are my "over-nighter" logs.
As a complete newbie to handling, obtaining, cutting, splitting my own firewood, i'm learning a lot here! You have my full attention professor Chris sir!
Like everything there is so much more to it even for something so simple. Firstly you are selling/ buying a lot less wood in your delivers But for me the main thing is the ability to controle the house temp more evenly. Modern clean air fireplaces with less ablitlty to restrict air flow plus Lots of surface area means it will burn hot and fast and next minute you are cooking. Remember not everyone lives in massive houses with high ceilings Also the hole dry wood thing is obvious true but just means you hold it abit longer but it's still the same amount of wood. Massive labour savings with splitting and handling. As always blanket statements like smaller is better dosnt address differnt circumstances
My friends ask why I split down to hand size. My answer is “because my US Stove 2000 AEP likes it better”. Burns better, hotter and mama is happier! Thank you Chris. God Bless!
I’ve got news for you, all the heat goes up the chimney. What we don’t want going up the chimney is unburnt fuel. It’s an interesting process. Lots of variables.
@ Good point! My perspective is from running my Heatmore outdoor boiler. There is about a 3’ orange flame, that looks like the afterburner of a jet engine, during the early stages of a fresh fill. Too much fuel is going out of the chimney. I made another comment here also. When I use the “rocket mass heater” method I just get heat vapor visible out the chimney.
I did an experiment in my wood stand $10 & $20 boxes where I filled some of the boxes with larger splits and then put smaller splits in the other boxes just to see if people considered the split size. People would always choose the smaller split boxes and the larger stuff never got touched. Even though the boxes contain the same exact cubic feet of wood it looks like there is more wood when there are more pieces of it. I now resplit everything made for the woodstand and make sure the pieces are no more than 2 or 3 inches square max.
I went smaller splits all my 40 years with a wood stove. Past few years I have been splitting rounds on a 4-way wedge and letting it fly. I found (even with this colder season) that I'm no longer going through as much of our stacks per season so, in my experiance bigger the better and 6"-10/12" rounds are best.
Sound advice! I've been cutting and splitting for household heat for over 40 years. I'm no expert, but I know what works. Finer split pieces mean drier wood, easier to handle, cleaner burn, less ash and more efficient, easier to manage heat in the stove. And I've never heard a word of complaint from my neighbors. There's no visible smoke coming out of my chimney.
Yup, the boiler guys that burn great big massive rounds with smoke billowing out the stoves stack do not know that they are loosing a lot of heat burning green/not dry wood. 30% heat loss or more with green wood and then they have to cut more wood to compensate.
@@InTheWoodyard an argument might be that it's less work to cut 30% more wood and leave into rounds than it would be to split that much firewood into small pieces...I don't really know the answer just throwing it out there.
Up here in the northeast nothing but free wood everywhere. Most just need processing and seasoning. The kids love the work and teaches them valuable knowledge about what it takes to heat a house.
I usually split my wood to about half the size of the big pieces you had in this video. I burn mostly standing dead ash that has cured since before June. I have split some in half to test moisture. The moisture level has been as low as 12% with most of the pieces being around 18%. When the weather is around 0 degrees, like today, I'll put smaller pieces on to get more heat. You get the same amount of BTU's out of say a 10-inch round whether it's split big or small. The question is how intense do you need the heat be at a given time. On a 40 degree day I don't need a lot of heat, so big splits that release the heat more slowly is needed. My wood is dry even when the split is big. However, my big splits are about half the size of what's in this video. Ten-inch rounds get split in half. For me, that's the ultimate size.
Yup! It all makes sense! Sizzling wood causes energy loss! Smaller splits sell better to people who are willing to pay more for it also! Good stuff Sir Chris👍🏻👍🏻GNI
I agree, but my big airtight stove goes wild with too many small (as you define it) pieces in it...I hit a chimney temp of over 500F one time, had me worried. I like to finish my night by stuffing in a large chunk of dried (sitting by the stove for a week or two) burlwood...I love peeking over the rail from my loft bedroom and seeing the red glow in the stove; guaranteed coals in the morning. Keep up the good work, Chris!
Great channel, I always watch your videos, I personally have a Hearthstone Green Mountain 80. I cut my wood between 18 and 22 inches long but, I split smaller splits, the stove does better with the smaller split rather than the big “all nighters”. And like you said, I can really pack the stove full with the smaller splits and I still get 8-12 hour burns.
I heat exclusively with wood. I split it on the smaller side to facilitate quicker drying. I also make some bigger chunks that go in at bedtime. I let them get going and then damp the stove down. Burns all night.
I agree with your opinion about firewood size. Yes I have a small splitter, but save a little straight grained rounds to split with an axe on Saturday mornings while the neighborhood ladies are enjoying coffee with my wife on the deck. The myth lives on. GNI
I have always made smaller pieces, all of the same reasons that you just identified. It may burn faster, but the stove gets hotter, the smolder strategy means longer burn, slower heat conversion, which means more time and BTUs up the chimney.
Het Chris noticed you got that fancy splitter maul there. I know there are a lot of tool snobs but my maul is a cheap chinese job 😊 ' silverline' brand. Its 6lb head with german style ' beak'. Ive had it 15 years and it splits great. Even elm!! . It all comes down to the guy using it. I put a few shafts on it but now have a piece of thick rubber hose around the top of shaft to act as a cushion. ( Its actually a piece of air intake pipe of an old landrover. 😊
When I did the moisture/ heat recovery work ; every 3% drop in moisture increased the BTU's by 10%. That jet steam coming out of the ends has to catch fire = more BTU's with the volatile gasses burnt, smaller wood= more burning gasses
I have been splitting small also for decades since I was a kid. I like to do so because here in the north east, the climate I live in is conducive to seasoning all types of species here (maples/oaks/cherry/ash/beech etc) in 12 months or less. I've never had any issue burning any piece of wood in the woodstove that I split 12 months prior (and most cases 10 months) while stacked above ground single direction & top tarp covered (with full sun exposure of hot sunny dry streaks). I want my wood seasoned fast & to be confident that I won't ever have to look like a coal miner digging around the ashes just to get my firewood to catch
2x1/4 bottom buried in ashes 3x1/8 middle 4x1/16 top Kindling way on top Upside down fire will burn most of the night hot and charcoal left in the morning to spark it back up. I went from burning 6 chords to 3 since I started 20 years ago of burning wood
Thanks for your video I kept explaining this to my brother and he was large wood burns better until he got slab wood which is closer to hand size. Burned hotter and cleaner
Everybody by me sells these big old pieces along with smaller pieces in a cord. The big pieces don’t fit in stove and need to be broken down. I left a few bigger one that would fit for overnight burn. I put a big piece in over night, glass was black in morning. And when I ran it hot I could hear the creosote burning off in chimney. Yeah bought a cheap electric splitter for smaller wood. No black glass. Plus my 85 year old mother can lift. She loves getting outside and helping me stack wood.
Well Chris I do agree with you on the most part but to assume people are burning round would that is never dry isn't something I can agree on lol. Most true wood burners know if their wood is dry. Lets talk about Boilers a sec. Smaller wood no matter what will burn with a lot higher BTUs meaning more heat a hotter burn. But rounds unsplit or just play in have or in 4 to be used as all-nighters is a smart way to cut down on the amount of wood you are burning. People burn all-nighters for a few reasons. 1 is so they don't have to wake up every 3 to 4 hours to feed the fire. 2 they know they can go to bed and not have to worry if the fire is going out. 3 they know that in the morning they will have a fire still going and will not need to start the stove. Most people not all but most people in the winter time are in their home about 8 PM. That means they will not be going in and out letting the cold air in. Most would have already showered or took a bath so there is no real reason to be screaming for hot water. Most will be tucked nice and warm in their bed by 11 PM. So there is no real reason to keep the house at 90 F so having less BTUs is not a bad thing. True smaller wood you can fit more if you stack it nicely or pack it in tight. But smaller wood burns faster then round wood meaning you will be filling the stove more with smaller wood. I have been playing with wood all my life and I have tried many different ways just to prove my point. Now smaller wood is great for camping and cooking on an open fire smoking meat so on but it is the best for people that wish to have smaller wood. Truth be told what matters most is what people want not what others want people to have. I was working with wood boilers from the age of 15 but pretty much used a wood stove from birth. By the time I was 7 I was stoking the wood stove on my own with no one watching me and I am a family of 13 and I am second to the youngest. Back in the day some of our schools used wood boilers and ever year I was the one going inside to clean them and that was at 15 years of age. I lived in Maine and the winters were rough. You did what you had to do just to stay warm. Most not all but most would stack about 6 to 10 full cords of round wood in their basement so it would dry from the heat of the wood-stove or boiler or from the head in general. Houses up north pretty much all had full basements. When I was 12 I met a guy that we would stack wood for in his barn. That barn had two things in it. Wood and a wood-stove. He would keep the wood in the barn out of the weather and the woodstove would help keep it dry. When he had to work on anything like his truck or tractor he would simple pull in the barn work on it is a nice warm barn and then pull it out when he was done and slip it in his other barn. The old man was 80 and he told me he has been doing this from when he was a child and it was what his dad did.
I cut, split and burn my own wood. I have a small stove box in our guest house and a standard sized stove box in our main house. Since I started cutting to fit the small box I’ve noticed that both stoves are more efficient. It may take more time on the splitting but the wood dries faster and is easier to handle. Well, I have wood to cut. Getting ready for next year.
Morning Chris this is a thing to each it own we had customers pickup woods from the lot so they tell what easier for them to burn and put in there stoves some likes big for all nighters so did a variety of wood for different stove sizes so they would go through pile and get them a load but told the owner about it and said split how customers want he was one the bigger the less it takes to make a load but putting up with people I just let them get there woods they needed and wasn't worried about time my pay was the same but I as I said before sell them what they want they know how to burn it that's for heating there houses always interesting as usual but in this case the customers always right thanks for posting waiting for next post I sell off the lot you selling delivered wood same thing keeping customers happy you cover all the topics of firewood and best way to get your money worth out of it thanks again my friend catch the next one
I was taught, if you can pick it up with one hand, it's the right size. - and I tend to split it based on what I feel my wife can handle with one hand. but with my newer stove - with a full size door; I mix in bigger ones. i also have started mixing in kindling in the same stacks, so I don't have to process it separately.
I agree with almost everything except the smaller pieces. It does burn faster because there’s more surface area to burn. My stove in my garage has no inlet air regulation only a dampener in the flue so the small super dry pieces go poof gone in 3-4 hours even with the damper all the way closed. But the overnight logs lb for lb last me 6-8 hours and still have ignitable coals. Yes i have to clean the flue but its only once a year
I did a donation delivery to a guy I know who is outside city limits. He stuffed the basement fire box with the neatly packed small split honey locust. I had never seen this done. I did not say anything, just watched and I walked away puzzled. Your Chewy box explaination took the mystery out of what he was doing. In my area, everything is for seasonal liquid lunch outdoor enjoyment.
G’morning Chris. Somehow, you’re right. All my wood gets split into one of 9 sizes. I usually burn 4 out of 9 sizes. Never broke a window yet. GoodNightIrene
I've always liked big dense white ash limbs for overnight, but our wood stove is a leaky antique otherwise I could throttle down more and use split wood overnight maybe.
If a person (and many do this) leave's their firewood in rounds or very large splits the likely hood that their wood is dry inside is low. This is why you see many outdoor wood boilers spewing out tons of smoke because their wood is still wet inside...they are burning much more wood to get the same heat from less wood that is dry (up to 40% less if it is really wet/green wood).....SO, they have to cut MORE wood doing more work to make up the difference so....the cost in reality is more time and more work and more wood because they leave the wood big and do not dry it long enough. BUT if they dry there big wood for enough time in the right conditions...like 2-4 years with most wood it MIGHT be dry inside...but not likely.
Idk if this helps anyone. But i have a 2k sq ft stove. Fire box is 21in wide by 14in deep. I cut them to 12in legnth and load them the short way. It has the air tubes and not the catalytic converter. The air wash comes down the front from the top. If i load it long ways, it doesn't burn as well as the short way. Try to burn locust that has been down for over 10yrs. It doesn't rot so don't be scared to cut into it and see.
hey chris! how about a ranking of how different hardwoods smell burning? my top of the list would be apple, cherry, maple. red and white oak in the middle. and stinky, nasty smelling ash smoke at the very bottom. 🙂 can't comment on many other woods as i don't have access to burn them.
my outside boiler has a 160cfm draft fan, every minute that it's running it's pumping in a 160 cubic ft of air. big blocks of wood burn slower thus the stoves fan runs longer to get that block burnt. In sub zero weather every second the fan runs the wood needs to heat that 160cfm of air before heating the water and makes for a longer run time burning large wood not to mention all that lower temp heat going up the stack during the longer run time. If that blower runs even 10 minutes longer each cycle that's a lot of wasted heat going to warm the great old outdoors
I like Irene ! BUTT---what happened to Green Bay ? I had to re split for a friend who bought a cord of Hard Maple split to 8+ inch thick / +/- 30 lb splits much too heavy and big for her. This seller wouldn't change. Hate to say it Chris, but you are correct. M.B.A. in Wood awarded.
I like small split then stack it in tight for a long burn I also get some that are in the middle not massive but not real small. Most the people I know want big chunks so that’s what I sale them.
Here's a question for the community. We own Mountain Stare Firewood located in WV. We have Virginia pine everywhere. It's as free as free can get. After doing some research, we've learned very dry Virginia pine is not a threat to chimneys. We burn it ourselves at home. That said, can't even give it away to our customers. I understand it's not a hardwood and it has low BTUs per cord, but I could sell it for half as much becuase it's just all over and free. Thoughts? Can't get anyone to agree with us lol
Yup...there is a HUGE myth (especially in the east) that your house will explode and burn down to the ground if you even touch pine (softwood). Yet in most of north America (west and north...Canada & Alaska) and most of Europe softwoods are the most used type of trees for firewood.... spruce, balsam, pine, larch, fir...DRY is all that matters.....
Any sized wood is good, as long as it will be seasoned when you need/want it. A variety is good too. But to me personally 6 inches is a good size. Fairly easy to handle, not excess work splitting, seasons decently fast.
That’s what I’ve learned the past couple seasons - it just dries so much easier. I was shocked to see that even large chunks I’ve had racked in the sun still weren’t dry on the inside after a solid year.
How would you rate Ash? Why isn’t more popular in your area? I ordered a cord and it was partially dry and once I resplit it was ready in a week or so. Was surprised.
I've always been of the mindset that the more wood you can pack into a stove/furnace/insert/doesn't-matter the longer it'll burn and the more heat it will generate. Wood is Wood. The more of it there is to burn, the more BTUs it'll have available to consume. YOU regulate the burn, the size or shape or wholeness of the wood does. not. matter! As a guy who's well on his way to wearing out his body, smaller pieces is for me, the logical way to go.
just like everything else in life - SIZE MATTERS" I do believe a variety of size is needed. I like to have some bigger sized pieces for the longer hold of the fire - yes you have proven more pieces with the smaller splits, but physics says the smaller splits will burn away faster due to surface area of the burn. You said it the space for the fuel to breath is causing the fire to burn away faster. It all depends on how you are looking at the fire / heat you are trying to obtain from the wood. The bit of wood I sell, is split smaller than I want for myself, When I screw up and bring a "sell" tote of wood to my basement, I am not as happy with the time I get out of it in my stove for all mentioned reasons.
If you desire a slower burn from the smaller split limit the oxygen and slow the burn rate, a fire is only able to burn at a rate that it has adequate oxygen to do so.
Burn time and produced usable heat are two different things....the oxygen used is AS important as the fuel it takes both and often to much oxygen to fast is what cuts burn time and efficiency in the usable heat going up and out instead of into the room/building. With many big pieces that are not dry inside the perception is a long burn time when in fact it is an inefficient burn because of the energy required to burn of the moisture in the wood.
@ demo video with a brush fire or wood stove introduce a blower, ie more air thus oxygen wood size does not change but the burn rate goes up and the same wood is consumed at a faster rate remove the blower/oxygen fire dies down. flue dampner works in a similar fashion closed it draws less fresh air into the firebox but also slows the escape of the heated gases escaping the firebox. You already get the concept just thought it might get it across to future viewers.
I'm a backyard firepit kinda guy, so I cut my wood down to about 12", then split is pretty small. I only want to sit out there for 2 or 3 hours, so the small pieces get going quicker, give me nice flames, and I don't care they burn out sooner.
I may have learned something today. It’ll be interesting trying to convince people of your theory, which I’m convinced is correct. Stay well Chris. 🪵🔥🍻🏝️
I've only been burning for 3 years...... this is the first I've heard of packing the wood into a stove like that. I usually try to leave a good amount of space for airflow. Do you really pack it in like that?
So my new EPA wood stove the fire box is 18 inch by 15inch I cut all my wood to 16 inch pieces but when I split my wood I split it into slab wood. Would it be better to split them like you have or keep as slabs about 1-2 inch thick and about 12 wide? I also sell the same wood out by my driveway to the Local campers that drive by to get to the local campground right up the street
Sounds great! A variety is good as long as it is dry...what is nice about slabs is they dry great (lots of surface area to breath and dry) and for a longer burn you can stack them for a longer burn at night like a large chunk (like a big deck of cards).
The proper size to split to is whatever size the customer wants. One advantage to leaving it bigger is one can always split it smaller. Air tight stoves or gassifiers, smaller is definitely better.
16" is fine I have found out over last few year wood stoves have gotten smaller .Ben cutting logs at 14" and split small . Fit more in easy to handle stacks better . And yes it drys faster .as we all know you end up with enough junk wood for camp fires ect .keep warm burn wood
I have an odd question. What brand of shirt are you wearing? I like those big, open, top pockets. I don't like having flaps over the top pockets, and cutting the flaps or tucking them in isn't the best, for various reasons. Thanks.
We deliver 10-15 cords a week in the busy season. Nobody agrees on what size they like. We literally just ask them after bringing out an average size the first time.
And to take it a step further. I cut my wood 8-10 inches in length. That length seems to burn in my Solo Stove fire pit the best. Yes I’m Wood snob!!!!
This channel is getting old running out of content
But yet you still watched it.
Almost 5 years and a video every day almost 1700 so far ...I am just getting started...how many videos have you made?
@@InTheWoodyard Great Content every day. I love this channel.
Many other things to watch if you want to. Have a great day
@@InTheWoodyarddon’t even bother with people like this
I talked about this same thing in my boiler video that's coming out this next week. Smaller is better and get longer burn times, and is a better bed of coals.
Nice!
I like big and small splits. Small splits season quicker. However, they burn quicker from my experience. For longer burns, I prefer larger, well-seasoned pieces for bedtime..
There is just something relaxing about seeing that much firewood, and a man working it !
Firewood is my gym and psychologist!
I recently bought a old farm house with a old Red Top boiler in it. You an you're comment section is a wealth of knowledge. Thank you for passing this info on to us that are new to the game
Yup, lots of great people here!
Professor Chris, dropping the morning knowledge for all to hear.😊
Thanks, I'm just a guy with a saw.
THE one channel I make sure to watch every day. Keep it up, Chris.
Wow, thanks!
@@michaelparcus3625 me too I really like his videos.
Personally after a lifetime of burning, felling and spilling logs i still find the best combination is mixed sizes ie diameter of wood. Over night i put in the biggest chunkiest i can lay my hands on , that keeps burning slower but alive until early o'clock. We never ever burn wood over 20% moisture ,with a typical moisture content of 14-15% , this leaves less ash , burns really clean keeps the flue clean on both fires too.
Awesome....you are doing it right...most people who burn with a wood boiler do not even know their woods moisture content....there motto is if it fits it burns.
Spot on ! I've been heating with wood for 30+ years . Smaller splits do burn more effectively . Also as you stated , more surfaces for drying faster. This also applies to more surfaces for fire to exist = a hotter burn.
Yup, it makes a difference! Thanks for watching!
@@timothyconnecticut1910 I concur with smaller pieces given more heat, but it’s the all night burn that concerns me. There’s where you have to use larger piece that will last a couple of hours. So you can’t really say one or the other is better.🥴
Great information, dry wood is the way to go!
Yup!
Learn something new all the time from you still to this day... Love this content right here!!!
Glad to hear it! Thanks for watching!
I burn around 5 cords each winter in a Quadrafire wood stove. I split my Oak and Ash in a 50/50 ratio, half large and half medium. I'll split my Maple, Aspen, Birch and Boxelder in to smaller pieces. The Oak and Ash are my "over-nighter" logs.
good plan!
A lifetime of knowledge in 20 minutes!!!! (wisdom)😁😁😁😁😁😁
Thanks! It's not always easy to make it all make sense especially to people whos minds are closed.
As a complete newbie to handling, obtaining, cutting, splitting my own firewood, i'm learning a lot here! You have my full attention professor Chris sir!
Thanks...there are 1700 videos here for you to watch and a new one every morning!
I love it, your so patience, wish I could explain things like you 😊
Thanks for watching!
It’s amazing that you have to explain this to people. It’s so simple but people think there’s some kind of magic involved with Firewood.
There are a lot of people new to it so they have questions.I think they are smart for asking because burning down the house is bad.
It’s not simple for many people. His explanation is simple. Some people struggle due to lack of knowledge. Just look at California
Like everything there is so much more to it even for something so simple. Firstly you are selling/ buying a lot less wood in your delivers But for me the main thing is the ability to controle the house temp more evenly. Modern clean air fireplaces with less ablitlty to restrict air flow plus Lots of surface area means it will burn hot and fast and next minute you are cooking. Remember not everyone lives in massive houses with high ceilings Also the hole dry wood thing is obvious true but just means you hold it abit longer but it's still the same amount of wood. Massive labour savings with splitting and handling. As always blanket statements like smaller is better dosnt address differnt circumstances
My friends ask why I split down to hand size. My answer is “because my US Stove 2000 AEP likes it better”. Burns better, hotter and mama is happier! Thank you Chris. God Bless!
I'm glad to hear Mama's happy!
I’ve got news for you, all the heat goes up the chimney. What we don’t want going up the chimney is unburnt fuel.
It’s an interesting process. Lots of variables.
So no heat goes into your room/house??? You might have a problem???
@ Good point!
My perspective is from running my Heatmore outdoor boiler. There is about a 3’ orange flame, that looks like the afterburner of a jet engine, during the early stages of a fresh fill. Too much fuel is going out of the chimney.
I made another comment here also. When I use the “rocket mass heater” method I just get heat vapor visible out the chimney.
I did an experiment in my wood stand $10 & $20 boxes where I filled some of the boxes with larger splits and then put smaller splits in the other boxes just to see if people considered the split size. People would always choose the smaller split boxes and the larger stuff never got touched. Even though the boxes contain the same exact cubic feet of wood it looks like there is more wood when there are more pieces of it. I now resplit everything made for the woodstand and make sure the pieces are no more than 2 or 3 inches square max.
Smaller pieces tend to give out better flamage than bigger pieces.
Why i use smaller pieces for campfires. I can see my guests.
Yup.
yup!!!!!!!!!
I went smaller splits all my 40 years with a wood stove. Past few years I have been splitting rounds on a 4-way wedge and letting it fly. I found (even with this colder season) that I'm no longer going through as much of our stacks per season so, in my experiance bigger the better and 6"-10/12" rounds are best.
Thanks for sharing!
Sound advice! I've been cutting and splitting for household heat for over 40 years. I'm no expert, but I know what works. Finer split pieces mean drier wood, easier to handle, cleaner burn, less ash and more efficient, easier to manage heat in the stove. And I've never heard a word of complaint from my neighbors. There's no visible smoke coming out of my chimney.
Yup, the boiler guys that burn great big massive rounds with smoke billowing out the stoves stack do not know that they are loosing a lot of heat burning green/not dry wood. 30% heat loss or more with green wood and then they have to cut more wood to compensate.
@@InTheWoodyard an argument might be that it's less work to cut 30% more wood and leave into rounds than it would be to split that much firewood into small pieces...I don't really know the answer just throwing it out there.
Up here in the northeast nothing but free wood everywhere. Most just need processing and seasoning. The kids love the work and teaches them valuable knowledge about what it takes to heat a house.
Nice!
I usually split my wood to about half the size of the big pieces you had in this video. I burn mostly standing dead ash that has cured since before June. I have split some in half to test moisture. The moisture level has been as low as 12% with most of the pieces being around 18%. When the weather is around 0 degrees, like today, I'll put smaller pieces on to get more heat. You get the same amount of BTU's out of say a 10-inch round whether it's split big or small. The question is how intense do you need the heat be at a given time. On a 40 degree day I don't need a lot of heat, so big splits that release the heat more slowly is needed. My wood is dry even when the split is big. However, my big splits are about half the size of what's in this video. Ten-inch rounds get split in half. For me, that's the ultimate size.
Sounds great!
Yup! It all makes sense! Sizzling wood causes energy loss! Smaller splits sell better to people who are willing to pay more for it also! Good stuff Sir Chris👍🏻👍🏻GNI
It is a win-win all around!
Thanks!
You are welcome!
Facts are right on. I have done firewood for years. I agree totally. Slightly different up in Maine. But same idea. Good video!
Thanks.... keep cuttin'!
You can get more on a pickup (or dump trailer) just throwing it on, if it is smaller too. (without stacking it). For the cubic feet available.
Yes...to a degree.
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge every day.
Thanks for watching!
@InTheWoodyard of course. I watch these every single day. I even fall asleep to them sometimes. Lol
I agree, but my big airtight stove goes wild with too many small (as you define it) pieces in it...I hit a chimney temp of over 500F one time, had me worried. I like to finish my night by stuffing in a large chunk of dried (sitting by the stove for a week or two) burlwood...I love peeking over the rail from my loft bedroom and seeing the red glow in the stove; guaranteed coals in the morning. Keep up the good work, Chris!
You might have needed to close the dampers down. To much oxygen feeding the fire can cause a fast hot burn????
Great channel, I always watch your videos, I personally have a Hearthstone Green Mountain 80. I cut my wood between 18 and 22 inches long but, I split smaller splits, the stove does better with the smaller split rather than the big “all nighters”. And like you said, I can really pack the stove full with the smaller splits and I still get 8-12 hour burns.
Very nice! Keep cuttin'!
I heat exclusively with wood. I split it on the smaller side to facilitate quicker drying. I also make some bigger chunks that go in at bedtime. I let them get going and then damp the stove down. Burns all night.
That’s the way to do it!
Nice job profeser. Thank you .
Thanks for watching!!
Chris you are correct I use an indoor wood furnace and I can get a longer burn time out of smaller splits.
Might be because you can pack it full easier?
Very well explained. I never did like burning wood to burn the moisture out to burn wood for heat.
Can’t argue with common sense.
Thanks...it really isn't common sense though...more like science and facts. So people fear facts and prefer feelings.
I agree with you on the log size being split smaller. Stay safe.
Thanks for watching!
Love your education as well as fire wood
Thanks for watching!
I agree with your opinion about firewood size. Yes I have a small splitter, but save a little straight grained rounds to split with an axe on Saturday mornings while the neighborhood ladies are enjoying coffee with my wife on the deck. The myth lives on. GNI
Yes I love to show the local ladies my big chopper.
Yup, lots of opinions just like rear ends!
I have always made smaller pieces, all of the same reasons that you just identified. It may burn faster, but the stove gets hotter, the smolder strategy means longer burn, slower heat conversion, which means more time and BTUs up the chimney.
MIKEY! You are not just another pretty face...well said!
I have been splitting to about the same size. 2x4 to 4x4, and so far, no one has been complaining.
No complaints from customers? You are doing great!
On a moderately cold night, my ideal is a deep bed of coals, two or three pieces of split an a nice dry round. Burns long a not too hot.
22:05 this is what I was thinking the whole time. If you're heating your house, bigger is often better. You need a mix to get going, then rounds.
IF the rounds are actually dry inside.
Het Chris noticed you got that fancy splitter maul there.
I know there are a lot of tool snobs but my maul is a cheap chinese job 😊 ' silverline' brand. Its 6lb head with german style ' beak'. Ive had it 15 years and it splits great. Even elm!! .
It all comes down to the guy using it.
I put a few shafts on it but now have a piece of thick rubber hose around the top of shaft to act as a cushion. ( Its actually a piece of air intake pipe of an old landrover. 😊
Cool, thanks.
When I did the moisture/ heat recovery work ; every 3% drop in moisture increased the BTU's by 10%. That jet steam coming out of the ends has to catch fire = more BTU's with the volatile gasses burnt, smaller wood= more burning gasses
That's nice winter weather! We had -20 here yesterday and it was windy!
I like a good mix of small medium and large.
Yup, I agree but my large are a lot of peoples smalls!!
I have been splitting small also for decades since I was a kid. I like to do so because here in the north east, the climate I live in is conducive to seasoning all types of species here (maples/oaks/cherry/ash/beech etc) in 12 months or less. I've never had any issue burning any piece of wood in the woodstove that I split 12 months prior (and most cases 10 months) while stacked above ground single direction & top tarp covered (with full sun exposure of hot sunny dry streaks). I want my wood seasoned fast & to be confident that I won't ever have to look like a coal miner digging around the ashes just to get my firewood to catch
It sounds like you know what your doing... good job!
2x1/4 bottom buried in ashes
3x1/8 middle
4x1/16 top
Kindling way on top
Upside down fire will burn most of the night hot and charcoal left in the morning to spark it back up. I went from burning 6 chords to 3 since I started 20 years ago of burning wood
okay.
Thanks for your video I kept explaining this to my brother and he was large wood burns better until he got slab wood which is closer to hand size. Burned hotter and cleaner
Yep, smaller burns better mostly because it is drier and more oxygen gets to it....fire needs to breath.
Great video Chris!
Thanks for watching!
Everybody by me sells these big old pieces along with smaller pieces in a cord. The big pieces don’t fit in stove and need to be broken down. I left a few bigger one that would fit for overnight burn. I put a big piece in over night, glass was black in morning. And when I ran it hot I could hear the creosote burning off in chimney. Yeah bought a cheap electric splitter for smaller wood. No black glass. Plus my 85 year old mother can lift. She loves getting outside and helping me stack wood.
Yup, good for both of you...enjoy the heat and time together!
Well Chris I do agree with you on the most part but to assume people are burning round would that is never dry isn't something I can agree on lol. Most true wood burners know if their wood is dry. Lets talk about Boilers a sec. Smaller wood no matter what will burn with a lot higher BTUs meaning more heat a hotter burn. But rounds unsplit or just play in have or in 4 to be used as all-nighters is a smart way to cut down on the amount of wood you are burning. People burn all-nighters for a few reasons. 1 is so they don't have to wake up every 3 to 4 hours to feed the fire. 2 they know they can go to bed and not have to worry if the fire is going out. 3 they know that in the morning they will have a fire still going and will not need to start the stove.
Most people not all but most people in the winter time are in their home about 8 PM. That means they will not be going in and out letting the cold air in. Most would have already showered or took a bath so there is no real reason to be screaming for hot water. Most will be tucked nice and warm in their bed by 11 PM. So there is no real reason to keep the house at 90 F so having less BTUs is not a bad thing. True smaller wood you can fit more if you stack it nicely or pack it in tight. But smaller wood burns faster then round wood meaning you will be filling the stove more with smaller wood. I have been playing with wood all my life and I have tried many different ways just to prove my point.
Now smaller wood is great for camping and cooking on an open fire smoking meat so on but it is the best for people that wish to have smaller wood. Truth be told what matters most is what people want not what others want people to have. I was working with wood boilers from the age of 15 but pretty much used a wood stove from birth. By the time I was 7 I was stoking the wood stove on my own with no one watching me and I am a family of 13 and I am second to the youngest. Back in the day some of our schools used wood boilers and ever year I was the one going inside to clean them and that was at 15 years of age.
I lived in Maine and the winters were rough. You did what you had to do just to stay warm. Most not all but most would stack about 6 to 10 full cords of round wood in their basement so it would dry from the heat of the wood-stove or boiler or from the head in general. Houses up north pretty much all had full basements. When I was 12 I met a guy that we would stack wood for in his barn. That barn had two things in it. Wood and a wood-stove. He would keep the wood in the barn out of the weather and the woodstove would help keep it dry. When he had to work on anything like his truck or tractor he would simple pull in the barn work on it is a nice warm barn and then pull it out when he was done and slip it in his other barn. The old man was 80 and he told me he has been doing this from when he was a child and it was what his dad did.
okay
You're correct.
@@stuffnsuch631 😁
Great video .
Thanks!
I cut, split and burn my own wood. I have a small stove box in our guest house and a standard sized stove box in our main house. Since I started cutting to fit the small box I’ve noticed that both stoves are more efficient. It may take more time on the splitting but the wood dries faster and is easier to handle. Well, I have wood to cut. Getting ready for next year.
That’s great to hear…all that work is worth it when you are nice and warm!
You get more heat out of the same wood splitting it and drying it correctly. Good video.
DRY.....is the key word for sure!
Good morning woodhounds. 10 degrees here this morning
nice!
Love the sarcasm, Chris
Morning Chris this is a thing to each it own we had customers pickup woods from the lot so they tell what easier for them to burn and put in there stoves some likes big for all nighters so did a variety of wood for different stove sizes so they would go through pile and get them a load but told the owner about it and said split how customers want he was one the bigger the less it takes to make a load but putting up with people I just let them get there woods they needed and wasn't worried about time my pay was the same but I as I said before sell them what they want they know how to burn it that's for heating there houses always interesting as usual but in this case the customers always right thanks for posting waiting for next post I sell off the lot you selling delivered wood same thing keeping customers happy you cover all the topics of firewood and best way to get your money worth out of it thanks again my friend catch the next one
I could do way more but someone might get a tear in their eye and their bottom lip might protrude and quiver.
Thanks for watching!
I was taught, if you can pick it up with one hand, it's the right size. - and I tend to split it based on what I feel my wife can handle with one hand. but with my newer stove - with a full size door; I mix in bigger ones. i also have started mixing in kindling in the same stacks, so I don't have to process it separately.
That is a very good point. Keep cuttin'!
I agree with almost everything except the smaller pieces. It does burn faster because there’s more surface area to burn. My stove in my garage has no inlet air regulation only a dampener in the flue so the small super dry pieces go poof gone in 3-4 hours even with the damper all the way closed. But the overnight logs lb for lb last me 6-8 hours and still have ignitable coals. Yes i have to clean the flue but its only once a year
Nice! You got it!
I did a donation delivery to a guy I know who is outside city limits. He stuffed the basement fire box with the neatly packed small split honey locust. I had never seen this done.
I did not say anything, just watched and I walked away puzzled. Your Chewy box explaination took the mystery out of what he was doing.
In my area, everything is for seasonal liquid lunch outdoor enjoyment.
Yup, most of my customers buy firewood for liquid consumption too!
G’morning Chris. Somehow, you’re right. All my wood gets split into one of 9 sizes. I usually burn 4 out of 9 sizes. Never broke a window yet. GoodNightIrene
Good thing all wood burns!
Interesting … I tend to have a variety of sizes but probably should split my wood a bit smaller … thx for posting
Dry is what matters...do what you need to do to get it...smaller is good sometimes, better drying area (open with sun and wind) and TIME!
@ drying time is no problem in my case but your other points in favour of smaller pieces were quite compelling. Appreciate your thoughts on the matter
Elementary my dear Watson. I've been a small is better guy for years. Dry wood rocks.
Yup dry is job #1
I've always liked big dense white ash limbs for overnight, but our wood stove is a leaky antique otherwise I could throttle down more and use split wood overnight maybe.
Split the size you want !! Not sure why people get so hung up on this 👍
Because there are 67,000 people here that have an opinion and some want to learn more.
Time also has value. What may be ideal, but at what cost?
If a person (and many do this) leave's their firewood in rounds or very large splits the likely hood that their wood is dry inside is low. This is why you see many outdoor wood boilers spewing out tons of smoke because their wood is still wet inside...they are burning much more wood to get the same heat from less wood that is dry (up to 40% less if it is really wet/green wood).....SO, they have to cut MORE wood doing more work to make up the difference so....the cost in reality is more time and more work and more wood because they leave the wood big and do not dry it long enough. BUT if they dry there big wood for enough time in the right conditions...like 2-4 years with most wood it MIGHT be dry inside...but not likely.
Idk if this helps anyone. But i have a 2k sq ft stove. Fire box is 21in wide by 14in deep. I cut them to 12in legnth and load them the short way. It has the air tubes and not the catalytic converter. The air wash comes down the front from the top. If i load it long ways, it doesn't burn as well as the short way. Try to burn locust that has been down for over 10yrs. It doesn't rot so don't be scared to cut into it and see.
Nice....locust is awesome firewood!
hey chris! how about a ranking of how different hardwoods smell burning? my top of the list would be apple, cherry, maple. red and white oak in the middle. and stinky, nasty smelling ash smoke at the very bottom. 🙂 can't comment on many other woods as i don't have access to burn them.
Good idea! I like it!
I like to burn oak in the house when I'm going to be working outside....smells amazing....
I must have gone fishing the day they did the rocks in a jar project in school? I don't remember that experiment!😂
Maybe you where sleeping!
@InTheWoodyard IDK what I was doing...but it wasn't sleeping! 🤣
Put rocks in a jar until it is full.
Add smaller rocks until more void space are filled until full.
Add sand to the jar until it is full
Chris, what your opinion on using pine lighter stump cut into kindling in a fireplace in the amount used, safety & creosote built up?
Pine is fine as long as it's dry
Pine is fine if it is dry, just like all other firewood.
yup
my outside boiler has a 160cfm draft fan, every minute that it's running it's pumping in a 160 cubic ft of air.
big blocks of wood burn slower thus the stoves fan runs longer to get that block burnt.
In sub zero weather every second the fan runs the wood needs to heat that 160cfm of air before heating the water and makes for a longer run time burning large wood not to mention all that lower temp heat going up the stack during the longer run time.
If that blower runs even 10 minutes longer each cycle that's a lot of wasted heat going to warm the great old outdoors
Yup, that makes sense! Keep cuttin'!
HI Chris nice video keep up the good work love it (Ty Ron
Thanks!
I like Irene ! BUTT---what happened to Green Bay ? I had to re split for a friend who bought a cord of Hard Maple split to 8+ inch thick / +/- 30 lb splits much too heavy and big for her.
This seller wouldn't change. Hate to say it Chris, but you are correct. M.B.A. in Wood awarded.
Thanks for watching!
I like small split then stack it in tight for a long burn I also get some that are in the middle not massive but not real small. Most the people I know want big chunks so that’s what I sale them.
Yup!
Here's a question for the community. We own Mountain Stare Firewood located in WV. We have Virginia pine everywhere. It's as free as free can get. After doing some research, we've learned very dry Virginia pine is not a threat to chimneys. We burn it ourselves at home. That said, can't even give it away to our customers. I understand it's not a hardwood and it has low BTUs per cord, but I could sell it for half as much becuase it's just all over and free. Thoughts? Can't get anyone to agree with us lol
Yup...there is a HUGE myth (especially in the east) that your house will explode and burn down to the ground if you even touch pine (softwood). Yet in most of north America (west and north...Canada & Alaska) and most of Europe softwoods are the most used type of trees for firewood.... spruce, balsam, pine, larch, fir...DRY is all that matters.....
Any sized wood is good, as long as it will be seasoned when you need/want it. A variety is good too. But to me personally 6 inches is a good size. Fairly easy to handle, not excess work splitting, seasons decently fast.
Yup!!!
It is a bit early in the morning, but I think I'll pop some corn and settle in to watching the comments! :)
Enjoy your popcorn!
splitting small dries wood faster for increased heat, but faster burning……and increased future sales!🙂👍
It’s a win-win for everyone!
That’s what I’ve learned the past couple seasons - it just dries so much easier. I was shocked to see that even large chunks I’ve had racked in the sun still weren’t dry on the inside after a solid year.
@@prague7706 for sure…increased surface area/round when split small👍
@@prague7706 yup
How would you rate Ash? Why isn’t more popular in your area? I ordered a cord and it was partially dry and once I resplit it was ready in a week or so. Was surprised.
Ash is awesome firewood I sell more ash than any other wood...in my mixed hardwood with soft maple, elm, thorn apple, box elder, etc.
Just went through this myself with ash.
I've always been of the mindset that the more wood you can pack into a stove/furnace/insert/doesn't-matter the longer it'll burn and the more heat it will generate. Wood is Wood. The more of it there is to burn, the more BTUs it'll have available to consume. YOU regulate the burn, the size or shape or wholeness of the wood does. not. matter! As a guy who's well on his way to wearing out his body, smaller pieces is for me, the logical way to go.
Great points!
Ive learned most of my custwant smaller wood!! Only a couple want big wood, i split them special loads. Stay Hydrated and Have a Safe Day
Yup, same here.
Sir! I would love to hear you at an after dinner speech.
Hear it is...the pie is mine...get your own!
just like everything else in life - SIZE MATTERS" I do believe a variety of size is needed. I like to have some bigger sized pieces for the longer hold of the fire - yes you have proven more pieces with the smaller splits, but physics says the smaller splits will burn away faster due to surface area of the burn. You said it the space for the fuel to breath is causing the fire to burn away faster. It all depends on how you are looking at the fire / heat you are trying to obtain from the wood. The bit of wood I sell, is split smaller than I want for myself, When I screw up and bring a "sell" tote of wood to my basement, I am not as happy with the time I get out of it in my stove for all mentioned reasons.
If you desire a slower burn from the smaller split limit the oxygen and slow the burn rate, a fire is only able to burn at a rate that it has adequate oxygen to do so.
Burn time and produced usable heat are two different things....the oxygen used is AS important as the fuel it takes both and often to much oxygen to fast is what cuts burn time and efficiency in the usable heat going up and out instead of into the room/building. With many big pieces that are not dry inside the perception is a long burn time when in fact it is an inefficient burn because of the energy required to burn of the moisture in the wood.
Yup, oxygen is the thing very few people think/know about...fire needs to breath.
@ demo video with a brush fire or wood stove introduce a blower, ie more air thus oxygen wood size does not change but the burn rate goes up and the same wood is consumed at a faster rate remove the blower/oxygen fire dies down. flue dampner works in a similar fashion closed it draws less fresh air into the firebox but also slows the escape of the heated gases escaping the firebox. You already get the concept just thought it might get it across to future viewers.
I'm a backyard firepit kinda guy, so I cut my wood down to about 12", then split is pretty small. I only want to sit out there for 2 or 3 hours, so the small pieces get going quicker, give me nice flames, and I don't care they burn out sooner.
That makes sense! Small wood makes big flames!
I may have learned something today. It’ll be interesting trying to convince people of your theory, which I’m convinced is correct. Stay well Chris. 🪵🔥🍻🏝️
Thanks for watching!
Takes longer to split smaller, but yes this makes for happier customers most of the time!
Yup, they will pay for smaller wood.
Personal choice/need.
Dry is #1
Thanks I've not started to split my wood thinner so it dries quicker. Ideally in one year.
Happy choppin'!
I've only been burning for 3 years...... this is the first I've heard of packing the wood into a stove like that. I usually try to leave a good amount of space for airflow. Do you really pack it in like that?
Sure ...over night or if you are going to be gone for quite a while..filler up!
Thank you!
A+ Chris
Thanks John!
So my new EPA wood stove the fire box is 18 inch by 15inch I cut all my wood to 16 inch pieces but when I split my wood I split it into slab wood. Would it be better to split them like you have or keep as slabs about 1-2 inch thick and about 12 wide? I also sell the same wood out by my driveway to the Local campers that drive by to get to the local campground right up the street
Sounds great! A variety is good as long as it is dry...what is nice about slabs is they dry great (lots of surface area to breath and dry) and for a longer burn you can stack them for a longer burn at night like a large chunk (like a big deck of cards).
The proper size to split to is whatever size the customer wants. One advantage to leaving it bigger is one can always split it smaller.
Air tight stoves or gassifiers, smaller is definitely better.
okay.
16" is fine I have found out over last few year wood stoves have gotten smaller .Ben cutting logs at 14" and split small . Fit more in easy to handle stacks better . And yes it drys faster .as we all know you end up with enough junk wood for camp fires ect .keep warm burn wood
I'm also a 14 inch cutter.
Itty bitty Jotul 602 wood stove. Will take 16 max. So if I cut it a long 14 it still easily fits.
Nice...thanks!
Yup, much of the rest of the world cuts 10-12" in length (30cm).
Noticed this watching videos from Europe.....everyone seems to make really SHORT splits....
I have an odd question. What brand of shirt are you wearing? I like those big, open, top pockets. I don't like having flaps over the top pockets, and cutting the flaps or tucking them in isn't the best, for various reasons. Thanks.
LL Bean
@InTheWoodyard Thank you!
We deliver 10-15 cords a week in the busy season. Nobody agrees on what size they like. We literally just ask them after bringing out an average size the first time.
Yup, it is like asking them what they want to drink...
That wood pile behind you makes me drool. Most wood around me is pine or fir.
That's some good firewood for sure!
Burns to quick double what size your doing and perfect
I don't sell very much boiler or wood stove wood (90% 200-250 full cords for decades now) is fireplace wood...this is what my customers want.
Would 12 inches vs 16 inches wood be a better value for backyard burners? Just curious thanks
I sale a lot of 12 misquite wood for backyard cooking and bbq
You could ask the customers.
Also compromise at 14 inches to fit easily into both stoves and firepits.
I cut my firewood to 14 inches.
Longer is more wood so...value... I guess.
Nice!
The industry "standard" is 16" in north America and everything else is considered custom or specialty.
68°F here in Estero Florida this morning... cold front coming tonight... Wisconsin let their weather loose... here it comes
We can send it all to you if you want it was -20 here today! With wind!
Small is good 👍 but a few bigger pieces is OK when the fire gets going!😊
Yup!
And to take it a step further. I cut my wood 8-10 inches in length. That length seems to burn in my Solo Stove fire pit the best. Yes I’m Wood snob!!!!
Sounds great!
Even a carpenter ant's termite could handle that toothpick size cellulose.
I have been selling 200-250 full cords every year of those toothpicks for a few decades now at $360 each ....do the math you might learn something.
Good morning all!
Hello!